”I played Timo Tolkki's solos!”
Ten years ago Stratovarius was a celebrated Finnish heavy metal band. Its guitarist, Timo Tolkki, was a renowned guitar idol. Tolkki left the million-selling band in 2008, and the band continues on without him.
Tolkki started a new group, Revolution Renaissance, in the spring of 2008. The band released three albums to little success. A statement from former bandmates and discussions on message boards reveal that the bandmates and Tolkki had disagreements over money and payment. However, the biggest story is that Tolkki did not play his solos on the last Revolution Renaissance release Trinity. The solos were played by the album's producer, Santtu Lehtiniemi.
- ”This is correct. Tolkki didn't play his solos on Trinity, nor did he play the solos on the earlier album Age of Aquarius. The album credits name Tolkki, but I played them”, Lehtiniemi claims.
- ”And I have witnesses.”
Trinity's guitar solos have received a lot of praise from reviewers. Marko Säynekoski reviewed Trinity in the Finnish music magazine Soundi, saying that the guitar playing on the opening track is proof that Tolkki is still a world class guitarist.
- ”Guitar playing requires daily practice, no matter how talented you are. I used techniques in my solos that Tolkki isn't able to play.”
Tolkki, who has been a role model for Nightwish, Sonata Arctica and Children of Bodom, has already said on his Facebook page that the accusations against him are nonsense.
”I just wanted to help”
In April of this year Tolkki was interviewed by the Finnish newspaper Keskipohjanmaa, in which he said he had found his long-lost spark again.
- ”I spent several weeks on the solos of the new album, because I wanted a fresh feel to them. I incorporated things that were new and modern to me”, Tolkki told the reporter Jouni Nikula at Studio 57, where Trinity was being mixed.
- ”I don't know what Tolkki was doing when I was recording the solos. They were recorded in Helsinki with my own gear, over a period of three weeks. I was also mixing the album alone. I will ask Studio 57's owner Pasi Kauppinen for a statement on the mixing, which I spent over 20 hours a day doing. Tolkki seemed to enjoy spending his time more on the Internet."
The guitar teacher, who turned 30 on the weekend, is sad about the way events have transpired.
- ”I just wanted to help Timo make albums, but he has shown me no loyalty. His solo album Saana, which he made on his own, received terrible feedback. I wanted to help him so that it wouldn't happen again.”
The guitarist is especially upset about how Tolkki removed all mention of Lehtiniemi in the songwriting credits and that he has refused to return personal property.
- ”I've tried, without success, to reach Timo over the summer to sort out these issues.”
Lehtiniemi doesn't want to badmouth Tolkki, he simply wants to present his own version of events.
- ”Timo doesn't have any money or friends left, which might make him act desperately,” Lehtiniemi suspects.
Something good has come out of the mess. Lehtiniemi will continue to work with Revolution Renaissance's vocalist, the brazilian Gus Monsanto.
- ”We realised at the start of this process that me and Gus have a lot in common. We have principles.”
”An old dog can learn new tricks!”
It is not uncommon in the music industry for musicians to take credit for someone else's playing.
- ”But usually these hired guns are paid for their work!”
Lehtiniemi says that Tolkki promised him payment.
- ”Because I believed money to be tight, it was arranged that I receive my payment in the form of two guitars. In the end he gave me a used instrument, which he later tried to buy off me, because he had given it away on his website to a fan in Spain. Seven days were booked for the mixing of Trinity. At the beginning of the mixing process the album was missing clean guitars, guitar melodies and synths. The album's ballad was also absent of bass and drums. All of the drumtracks also had to be gone through again.”
- ”Considering the above and the time we were given, it was a miracle that we got as much done as we did. And as a reward Tolkki cut off all ties with me and left all of his bills unpaid. This isn't even a case of payment, but of the covering of costs. Tolkki even told me that I was as big a cheater of fans as him, because I let this happen.”
Pasi Kauppinen, who owns Studio 57, remembers when he heard the solo of Marching With the Fools, the album's opener, for the first time.
- ”I mentioned to Tolkki that he had progressed a lot in his soloing since the Stratovarius days." To which Tolkki replied, ”an old dog can learn new tricks!"
The week that was booked for mixing was not enough to finish the album. Luckily, a couple of days had freed up, and the album was finished.
- "Lehtiniemi finished the album literally a few minutes before their time was up."
Kauppinen points out that all bills have now been paid.
- "It was paid by Napalm Records, with Tolkki contributing as well. Everyone knows that Timo Tolkki is a nice guy, but he is still a customer among others. If bills are left unpaid, they can have an effect on the customer relationship. Currently, Tolkki has three weeks booked with a different project."
Lehtiniemi estimates that the mixing and mastering of Trinity cost a few thousand euros, because Studio 57 gave a ”friend price” to Tolkki. The rest of the advances Tolkki kept to himself, Lehtiniemi claims.
- "Tolkki declared that there was no money. Everyone had to save money where they could. But there was money, and Tolkki decided to use the good will of others to his own benefit.”
”I am considering filing a police report.”
The Stratovarius forums has been confused by the posts of someone going under the nickname of ”Santtu Lehtiniemi”.
- "I haven't written anything on the Internet. The childish comments written under my name were written by Tolkki himself. This has been verified by IP addresses."
Tolkki, who has talked in the press before about his mental health issues and manic depression, has sent Santtu harassing messages. In one e-mail he gloated about how he had managed to silence all the large newspapers.
- "Tolkki sent me a message in which he was gloating: 'How does it feel to lose? Do you think anyone will believe a nobody like you over someone like me, who has a long career behind him? If you practise more maybe you'll achieve something some day, although that is something I really doubt.'"
Lehtiniemi is considering filing a police report. He says that Tolkki's behaviour fulfills the requirements of fraud, threatening, defamation and identity theft.
- "It's sad that with the same intensity that he used to make great albums like Episode, he now uses to harass and destroy people", the longtime Stratovarius fan muses.
